HONOLULU – The Queen’s Medical Center – Punchbowl (Queen’s) and The Queen’s Medical Center – West O’ahu (QMC-West) have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
Queen’s and QMC-West earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
“Stroke is a devastating condition that could change a person’s life forever if not treated in a timely manner. Every minute during stroke, 1.9 million brain cells are lost permanently. But when we work together as a team to provide a definitive treatment in a timely manner, we see miracles. We see our patients regain full brain function and go back home to their loved ones. This award demonstrates our commitment and dedication to provide the highest quality of acute stroke care at The Queen’s Medical Center based on nationally-respected clinical guidelines,” said Kazuma Nakagawa, MD, Medical Director of Queen’s Comprehensive Stroke Center.
Queen’s and QMC-West additionally received the association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Plus award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
“We are pleased to recognize Queen’s and QMC-West for their commitment to stroke care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
